USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
IN the mean time, the Assembly had exerted themselves to satisfy the claims of Owaneco and
229
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1704.]
the other Mohegans about their lands; and, with the greatest fairness and liberality, had made him an offer of a sum of money, with which he was perfectly content. But Mason and his friends contrived to render him dissatisfied, so that he refused to make any arrangement. One of the prominent charges made by Dudley against the colony was, that they had treated the Mohegans with injustice, particularly in conveying away all their lands in the late grant and patent to New- London : while the fact was, with their uniform regard to justice and humanity towards that tribe, they had carefully guarded the property and priv- ileges of the Indians.
These and other misrepresentations respecting the Mohegans greatly deceived Queen Anne and her councillors, so that she appointed Governor Dudley, Thomas Povey, Esq., lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, Major Palms, and nine others, to examine and determine the whole affair, with lib- erty for any one to appeal to her majesty in coun- cil. This led the colony into a long and expensive controversy, which was wilfully brought upon it by its enemies : for, when a committee, sent by the Assembly this year to inquire and report, visited Owaneco, he refused to confer with them unless in the presence of Major Palms, while the latter ab. sented himself at Boston, as if purposely to defeat their object.
The family of Deputy-governor Mason claimed the lands which he had purchased, under a deed from Uncas, given him in 1659, while acting as agent of the colony. They denied the legality of the surrender which he had made of them the fol-
U
230
HEARING BEFORE THE QUEEN. [1705.
lowing year. This surrender he made to the Gen- eral Assembly, as he was bound to do, after having acted for them. They claimed, however, that he did not resign the property, but only the right of jurisdiction : a ground highly improbable, and to- tally inadmissible in the circumstances, in the ab- scence of all evidence in its favour.
The 12th of February, 1705, was an important day for Connecticut : for the queen, without their knowledge, had appointed it for the time of hear. ing the charges of Governors Dudley and Corn- bury. Sir Henry Ashurst had in vain endeav- oured to obtain a postponement, that the colony might have time to send an answer ; and, although the complainants had made all their arrangements, the case was to proceed without allowing any op- portunity to prepare for a defence. The burden, therefore, fell upon Sir Henry; and he exerted himself with a degree of faithfulness and skill which should ever render his name honourable in the eyes of posterity. He obtained all the aid possible ; and, being a brother by marriage to Lord Paget, that nobleman rendered him impor- tant assistance. The queen had been presented by Dudley with the opinion of King William's at- torney-general, which said " that he might send a governor to Connecticut ;" and with another from her attorney and solicitor general, which declared " that, if it were as Governor Dudley had represent- ed, there was a defect in the government : that the colony was not able to defend itself, and in immi- nent danger of being possessed by the queen's en- emies : and that, in such a case, the queen might
--- -
231
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1705.]
send a governor for civil and military government ; but not to alter the laws and customs."
Sir Henry, having been cited to appear and show reasons why a governor should not be appointed, occupied the queen and council an hour and a half' with facts and arguments to prove that things were not " as Governor Dudley had represented, but, in many respects, quite the opposite." He showed what powers were conferred by the charter, and how some of the acts charged against the Assem. bly, as cases of unwarrantable assumption of au- thority, were perfectly right, and proofs of their faithfulness and zeal. Their refusal to give up the command of the militia to the governors, which had been much objected to, he proved to be perfectly right. One of the charges was, that the courts were irregular and unjust. To this Sir Henry gave a most conclusive reply : that, in every case of appeal to the crown, their decisions had been approved. Of course, nothing farther could be said against them. But Governor Dudley loudly complained of instances of the refusal to furnish the men and money which had been called for. To this it was replied, that the charter did not re- quire them to send troops in such a case ; for they were under no obligation to obey the governors of other colonies, any farther than the crown should command. With regard to the supplies of money to Lord Cornbury, the Assembly, according to his lordship's own letter, had sent to her majesty to know her will. The replies of Sir Henry to other charges were not less direct and satisfactory than these ; and he added that, if governors should be appointed to the colonies, there would surely be no
232
DECISION BY THE QUEEN. [1705.
less exposure to abuses, since the assemblies now stood ready to check them : but that the tempta- tions would be increased by broader powers and diminished responsibility. He said that, in any case of impeachment of a governor, opportunity would doubtless be given him to be heard ; and justice required that Connecticut should now en- joy the same right.
This manly defence had the desired effect : for, after a full hearing, it was determined that the Lords of Trade should send to the governor of Connecti- cut the principal charges made against her ; and that the colony, as well as Dudley and Cornbury, should transmit their communications properly sealed and certified. This regular and public manner of proceeding was of all best calcula- ted to suit the interests and feelings of Connecti- cut, and least palatable to her dishonest accusers. They had no evidence to produce which could bear a fair scrutiny, and had relied on making false im- pressions to gain their end. Connecticut, on the other hand, only needed time to make out a full account of facts, and to collect and authenticate the abundant testimony that was ready to be fur- nished, in order to present a mass of proof which could not be resisted. In fact, it effected the ruin to the one cause and the triumph of the other.
Connecticut proved that, instead of being unable to provide for the defence of her soil, or willing to decline any reasonable demand to protect her neighbours, she had then and in the preceding year between 500 and 600 men in actual service ; that 400 of them had been chiefly employed for the defence of Massachusetts and New. York ; and her,
·
233
1705.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
committee of war had conferred and acted spir- itedly and harmoniously with officers and com- missioners of Massachusetts. One of the docu- ments sent to England to substantiate these facts was a letter in Governor Dudley's own hand, thank- ing Connecticut for her prompt and generous as- sistance in war. Many letters have been kept on file, as Trumbull remarks, in the office of the sec-
· retary of state in Hartford, from commanders, cit- izens, and clergymen in Hampshire county, pro- ving the generous energy with which the colony had repeatedly afforded them important aid. In- deed, it was unanimously proved that, while Con- necticut had a circulating currency worth scarcely £2000, she rendered assistance to Massachusetts and New-York, in three years, at an expense of more than that sum.
In the mean time, the accusing governors at- tempted to excite the feelings of the Friends or Quakers of England against the colony. Dudley had communicated a copy of an ancient law of Connecticut to the English Friends. The law had been passed about 50 years, when the Quakers were confounded with disorderly fanatics, and mis- understood. It had never been acted on, and was quite obsolete. A petition was sent to her majes- ty for the repeal of the law, as it denounced se- vere penalties against persons of that sect, or, rather, as Sir Henry Ashurst declared (in a peti- tion to the Lords of Trade), against Adamites and Ranters. The queen, without allowing time for Connecticut to reply, annulled the law.
But Dudley was preparing for another step, to give the colony more trouble in her own territory.
U 2
234
GOVERNOR DUDLEY'S COURT.
[1705.
Having been appointed president of the court formed by the queen to try the cause relating to the Mohegan country, he met the members at Sto- nington on the 23d of August, 1705. A survey had been made in July of the extensive tract in dispute, although an officer sent by the governor had forbidden it. The territory claimed was the whole of the Pequod country, except the principal residences of the tribe, which were certain tracts in New-London, Groton, and Stonington. The bounds of it were as follows : from a large rock in Connecticut River, near Eight-mile Island, in Lyme, eastward to Ah-yo-sup-puk Pond in Stoning- ton ; north to Mah-man-suck Pond ; thence to the Whetstone Hills, or Egunk-sank-a-pong, and the Whetstone country, or Ma-hum-squeeg; thence southwest to the upper falls of Quinebaug River ; nearly west to the Notch in the Mountain in Bol- ton, or Mo-she-nup-suck; and southerly back to the great rock in Lymc. Most of that part of the state which lay north of this tract, as has been be- fore stated, the Mohegans claimed as conquered country, and called it Wabbequasset.
Governor Dudley's court consisted of himself, Edward Palms, Giles Sylvester, Jahaleel Brenton, Nathaniel Byfield, Thomas Hooker, James Avery, John Avery, John Morgan, and Thomas Leffing. well. The court summoned the Governor and Company of Connecticut to attend, and all parties concerned : but the government, not having been furnished with a copy of the commission under which they acted, sent a committee to attend, with instructions to answer, in case their object were to make inquiry merely ; but, if they designed to de-
235
1705.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
cide the question, to retire, and to forbid all people of the colony to bear witness, plead, or answer be- fore them. The committee not only declined an- swering, but drew up a protest ; and the people in- terested in the lands failed to appear. The court, therefore, after a partial hearing of only a single day, with Owaneco sitting in state on the right hand of the president, with no evidence, claims, or opinions before them except those of interested persons and enemies of the colony, pronounced judgment, in violation of fair purchases, patents, deeds, rights of conquest, and possession. They gave to Owaneco a large tract in New-London, be- sides the tract of 1100 acres added to it in 1703 ; nine miles by two in Lyme ; and all Colchester. They also filed a bill of costs of £573 12s. Sd. against the colony. .
The court afterward gave a hearing of three days to Owaneco, Mason, and other complainants ; after which they represented to the queen that Owaneco had been disseized of about 7000 acres of land north of Windham, and another in Plain- field ; and that encroachments had been made by Lebanon, Windham, and Canterbury. They for- bade all persons to enter upon them until a farther hearing and determination of the case. They also appointed Captain Mason trustee or guardian of Owaneco and his people, and pretended that the Mohegans had been greatly oppressed : though 100 warriors (two thirds of the whole) cheerfully enlisted in the service this year, as they had done the last, showing that no dissatisfaction existed among them. Even Owaneco himself often ap- peared well content, except when under the im-
236
THE CLAIM REFUSED.
[1706.
mediate influence of those who excited his jealousy from interested motives. Indeed, he had no good reason for dissatisfaction : for the government had treated him, as well as Uncas, with uniform justice and kindness, paying liberally for what land they had purchased, performing all their stipulations, and more than once interfering for the preserva- tion of the tribe when in danger of subjugation or extirpation. Instead of not leaving the Mohegans land enough to plant, they had reserved between 4000 and 5000 acres for them between New-Lon- don and Norwich, strictly reserved and guarded in the patent granted to New-London. Nor had Connecticut exercised this liberality exclusively to- wards her most faithful ally, the Mohegan nation : reservations were made for the other Indians re- maining in her territory ; and all of them had the privilege of hunting and fishing everywhere, and of building wigwams, and cutting wood and tim- ber in all unenclosed lands.
The court of Governor Dudley adjourned till- May, 1706 : but it never assembled again. The Assembly, in October, appointed a committee to in- quire into the Indian affairs, and send information to Sir Henry Ashurst ; and he made so full a rep- resentation of facts relating to them, and to the intrigues, false charges, and other proceedings of governors Dudley and Cornbury, that the queen, after some time, appointed a commission of review. This commission determined, but so late as 1645, in favour of Connecticut ; as was done at every legal hearing. It was, however, nearly seventy years before the case was finally settled, in the reign of George III.
237
1706.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In the year 1706, the same measures were taken as before for defence within and without the colony. The agent in England assured the Assembly that Connecticut could not be required to furnish more than a mere quota of troops at the requisition of the governor of another colony : yet, notwithstand- ing this, and the vexations to which they had been subject, they showed as much zeal for her service as ever. The embarrassments under which this was done, at the same time, greatly enhanced the testimony which it bore to the loyalty and liberal spirit of the colony : for the people were greatly impoverished by the many untoward events of past months. The taxes of about three years had amounted to more than two shillings on a pound, or ten per cent. of all taxable property ; and mon- ey was so scarce that payments were made in the products of farms, such as beef, pork, grain, &c., which were received, sold in Boston or the West Indies, and cash or bills of exchange were thus obtained, to pay the debts of the colony at home and abroad. .
The peculiarly trying and dangerous period through which we have thus accompanied the col- ony, with such particularity as its importance and interest required, deserves to be held in remem- brance, and often contemplated by the present generation, who share the benefits of her success. We see the defenders of her institutions beset by a succession of threatening dangers, some of them of a nature as unexpected as alarming, yet dis- playing the equanimity, moderation, fortitude, and perseverance which were so characteristic of that people, and persisting to the last in asserting,
{
238
FEARS OF AN INDIAN WAR. [1707.
claiming, proving, and maintaining their rights. In the whole progress of the business, they exhib- ited that intelligent discrimination which is the legitimate result of a system of sound education in human learning and in the Word of God, and which may be looked for in vain in those countries in which these inestimable privileges are not enjoyed by the people at large. It was education, in its ex. tensive sense, which, under the blessing of God, so often prevented the people of Connecticut from be- ing hurried into fatal mistakes, and sinking into that lethargic indifference to their rights and in- terests which has proved fatal to so many other states and people. Paramount to all, they pos- sessed that unshaken confidence in the Almighty which they had been so well taught by the exam- ple of their fathers, and which led them to notice every important turn in the aspect of affairs with devout and humble submission to God.
CHAPTER XXIX. 1707.
A new Alarm of a French and Indian Invasion .- Neighbouring Indians suspected and watched .- Governor Saltonstall elected on the Death of Governor Winthrop .- General Nicholson's Expedition against the French in 1709 .- His Army is wasted by Sickness at Wood Creek, while waiting for the British Fleet .- It does not arrive .- The first Paper Money issued by Connecticut .-- Early Printing in Connecticut .- Spirit of the French in their Incursions .- The Colonies compelled to seek their Reduction for Self-preservation.
ABOUT the beginning of the year 1707, Mr. Treat and Major Schuyler sent letters informing
.
239
1707.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the government, that the French and Indians were again mustering their forces to invade the colonies, which caused new alarm. A council of war met on the 6th of February at Hartford ; and the alarm was increased by a suspicion that the Pohtatuck and Owiantuck Indians were ready to join the en- emy on their appearance.
Orders were given to fortify the western towns, which were then on the frontier of New-York, viz., Simsbury, Waterbury, Woodbury, and Danbury, and to keep daily scouts of two men in each, to give the earliest information of the approach of an enemy. The suspected Indians, or, at least, their chief men, were ordered to be removed to Strat- ford and Fairfield.
To give the enemy employment at home, or, rather, to drive the French from Canada, Governor Dudley wrote to Connecticut that he proposed to send 1000 men against L'Acadie, or their eastern possessions, and invited her to co-operate : but this was declined, partly because the other colonies ap- peared not to have been invited.
Governor Fitz John Winthrop died this year ; and a special meeting of the Assembly was called in December, at which the Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall was elected in his place. Governor Winthrop was one of the most distinguished, useful, and popular men of the colony. He was born at Ipswich, Mas- sachusetts, in 1638, and son of the first governor of Connecticut under the charter. He became a magistrate in 1689, major-general of the army against Canada in 1690, agent to England in 1694, and governor in 1698; after which he was annually re-elected to the chief-magistracy until
240
THE SAYBROOK PLATFORM.
[1707.
his death. The Assembly repealed the law re- quiring a candidate for governor to be first nomi- nated from among the magistrates. At the elec- tion in May, Governor Saltonstall was re-elected by the freemen ; and, Mr. Treat having retired from office at the age of 86, Nathan Gould was chosen deputy-governor.
Jonathan Scott and his two sons were taken cap- tive in a meadow in Waterbury by a few Indians, who carried them to Canada. They were after- ward redeemed and returned, except the younger son, who chose to live with the savages. In 1700, during an attack by the Indians, a man named Holt was killed on Mount Toby.
Hebron, New-Fairfield, Newtown, and Killingly were incorporated in 1706 and 1707.
The churches first formed in Connecticut were Congregational, according to the plan or platform adopted at Cambridge. Every organized band of Christians they regarded as a church, invested with power to manage its own concerns, accord- ing to the system which they believed to have been established by the apostles. The pastor and ruling elders proposed measures to the members, which they agreed to or rejected. At the same time, the churches were not considered independent in all respects, but bound to maintain fellowship with each other, and consult and give advice in cases of difficulty. As the Cambridge platform, how- ever, did not make precise provision for the as- sembling of councils of advice, the trustees of the college proposed that a meeting of ministers should be held to remedy the evil ; and, in 1708, a plan was adopted at Saybrook, on the general principles
241
1708.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of that of Cambridge. This was known by the name of the Saybrook Platform; and was imme- diately adopted by the churches. The General Assembly passed a resolution, declaring that they wished to see every church in the enjoyment of perfect freedom of conscience, and were gratified that a measure had been taken so well calculated to promote harmony and improvement.
About the year 1708 or 1709 Thomas Short, the first printer in Connecticut, took up his resi- dence in New-London. He printed the Saybrook Platform in 1710, the first book ever printed in the colony, and died soon after. In 1713, the Assem- bly induced Timothy Green to remove to that town to do the public printing. Printing was be- gun in New-London forty-five years earlier than any other part of Connecticut.
In 1706 the clergy were declared by law to be free from taxation. This year the Assembly or- dered that the "ministers of the Gospel preach a sermon to the freemen on the day appointed by law to choose their civil rulers, in the towns where they meet, proper for their direction in the work before them ;" and it cannot be doubted that the practice long had a happy influence in preserving the purity of elections, by impressing the people and their officers with a becoming regard for their duties in the sight of God. Party-spirit, selfish views in seeking and exercising offices, and that political madness which sometimes hurries a ma- jority towards ruin, cannot be long and success- fully guarded against without religious principle.
The same military arrangements were made as last year : but in October it was ordered that gar- X
242
A FRUITLESS EXPEDITION. [1709.
risons should be kept at the public expense : two at Simsbury and two at Waterbury ; and that Woodbury and Danbury should be garrisoned, if the council of war should so direct.
An expedition against Canada, L'Acadie, and Newfoundland was proposed by the queen in 1709, consisting of a squadron, with five regiments and a provincial army, of which she required Connecticut to raise 350 men. The eastern colonies were to raise 1200 men, and furnish them with transports, boats, and provisions for three months ; and these forces were to go by sea to attack Quebec ; while 1500 men from New-York, New-Jersey, and the southern colonies, including those from Connecti- cut, were to make a descent on the island of Mont- real. Colonel Whiting was soon put in command of the troops raised in Connecticut; and all the other colonies, except Pennsylvania, complied with the queen's orders. Connecticut issued bills of credit at a special Assembly in June. The land- army, under General Francis Nicholson, marched to Wood Creek, and waited for the fleet to arrive at Boston (but waited in vain) until autumn; when, after losing about one quarter of their number by disease, and no news being received, the army re- turned to Albany. The fleet had been sent to as- sist the Portuguese, the allied armies in Europe having been greatly reduced. Thus another fruit. less campaign, into which the colonies were drawn by the disputes of Europe, brought great calamities upon them, with no benefit. War, in almost all its forms, is a scourge of man; and one of its worst influences is that upon public morals. We shall see hereafter that this effect was greatly de-
243
1709.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
plored. Connecticut lost above ninety soldiers in this expensive season ; and some of the survivors, no doubt, returned home deteriorated in character by a summer spent in idleness, and among the so- ciety of such men as have composed the bulk of most armies.
The colony had now in circulation the first pa- per money ever issued by it. The act declared, " That, to assist in the expedition, for want of mon- ey otherwise to carry it on, there be forthwith im- printed a certain number of bills of credit on the colony, in suitable sums, from two shillings to five pounds, which, in the whole, shall amount to the sum of £8000 and no more." They were to be received at the treasury as one shilling on the pound better than money, though issued at par ; only £4000 was to be issued at first ; and taxes were laid for the payment of £4000 in one year, and the other £4000 in two years. Probably the people found this money very convenient, and, of course, useful, instead of the exchange of com- modities to which they had been accustomed. This plan was afterward adopted many times ; and, when the colony was unable to pay its notes, embarrassment of course ensued.
The wars between the colonies and the French grew out of the claim which both England and France made to the territory occupied by the lat- ter. The European nations which had engaged in the settlement of America, had agreed to acknowl- edge cach others' claims so far as they were found- ed on first discovery. But there was often some room left for pretexts on which more than one might claim a particular region. The discoverers
244
NATURE OF THE FRENCH WARS. [1709.
themselves did not know the form or extent of the lands they had discovered, especially in the interior ; and this was as true of the English discoverers as of any. Still, if the French had been inclined to practise Christian honesty, and credited the reports of the old English discoverers, they would have laid no claim to the countries which they occupied north of the English colonies. On the other hand, if both parties had been inclined to peace, and so honourable as to prefer justice to gain, they would doubtless have submitted the question to the de- cision of some disinterested umpire, if such could have been found. But, in the changeable and gen- crally hostile relations of the two nations, this was hardly possible. It would have been reasonable, however, to expect of both parties humanity to- wards each other. But the French early began to excite the savages against the English colonists ; and, for about 100 years, wars were carried on against them of the most treacherous and cruel nature. The French rulers in Canada would per- suade the Indians to burn their settlements, and murder or carry away the people, men, women, and children ; and this they practised in numerous instances. Had the English colonists followed their example with their spirit, we should have had reason to blush for them, and to expect the punish- ment of God to be visited severely upon their de- scendants. But the French settlements were never harassed in that wanton and bloodthirsty manner. Who ever heard of French women or children ta- ken by our fathers by surprise or ambush, carried to Massachusetts or Connecticut, treated as slaves, and sold back to their friends at exorbitant prices ? What Englishman, especially what English minis-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.